Sometimes I'll read a book just to read it, but at other times I'll read a book and get completely immersed in it. I'll travel to another time and place and feel as if I'm best friends with the main character.These are the books I tend to go back to and read time after time. These are the books that meet me on some deep level.

Here are some of my favorites. This list is no where near complete, but it's what came to mind tonight as I was writing:

Dracula by Bram Stocker
It has all the earmarks of a traditional Gothic novel. I can't help but love reading it year after year, usually in the month of October! Yes, I know the outcome, but this book thrills me just the same!

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Bronte Sisters are some of my most loved authors. I've enjoyed everything I've read by them, including Jane Eyre and Villette. Just the same, I have to say that Wuthering Heights is my favorite. Call me weird. Most people don't understand it. This book is complicated, dark and brooding, but I get so engrossed in the complexity and sadness of it all. It holds my attention every time I read it, which is one of the earmarks of a great book!

Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery
There's something in Anne that I connect with, I can't quite explain it. Maybe it's her imagination or her love of writing. Whatever it may be, I turn to the entire Anne of Green Gables series over and over again. I just can't seem to ever get enough of it!

The Christy Miller Series by Robin Jones Gunn
These books haven't been around long enough to be called "classics," but I love them just the same. Christy Miller is like me in so many ways. I love reading about her struggles as she goes through high school and college, and ultimately finds her soul mate. Like Anne, I identify with Christy on a deep level. Over the years I've felt like I've been in her exact pair of shoes. It's not often that you identify with characters in such an amazing way!

Emma by Jane Austen
While I love everything I've read by Jane Austen, I have to say that this is my favorite novel so far. A lot of people seem to dislike Emma, because of her interfering, selfish nature. I, on the other hand, love her because of it. I found her to be a very well rounded character who grew and learned from her very imperfections. I loved her wittiness and cheered for her success in the end.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
So, I'm actually still in the process of reading this book, but I had to mention it, it's that good! Mitchell gives such an amazing picture of pre and post Civil war Georgia. The contrast between the two is so intriguing. I'm already 600 pages in, and I'm just as engrossed as when I started. I expect that this, too, will be a book I read more than once!